Nancy Johnson

For nearly a quarter century, Nancy Johnson represented the fifth district of Connecticut. The most senior woman in the U.S. House of Representatives in the 109th Congress, she's been hailed by the non-partisan Almanac of American Politics as "one of the most active and productive legislators in the House." She was the first Republican woman appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee and also the first woman to chair a subcommittee. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Nancy Johnson speaks with passion about the health of America's children, America's workforce, and American business - the vital keys to our prosperity and future.

Ensuring a Healthy Future. Johnson is a recognized authority on health policy. She introduced the national Children's Health Insurance Program, was a principal author of the Medicare Modernization Act to provide seniors with prescription drugs and authored the demonstration projects on chronic disease management, the medical home, and gainsharing, laying the groundwork for payment for quality and care management. Johnson introduced the first the health information technology bill that envisioned an interoperable nationwide system and fought for broad adoption of Health IT to reduce medical errors and improve care quality. She also led the Long Term Care Coalition, was an avid supporter of community health centers and children's hospitals, and worked to pass malpractice reform and mental health parity legislation.

Tax Reform and the Simple Plan. As a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and a free-trade proponent, Johnson played an integral role in passage of every major tax and trade bill. To make us more competitive in a global economy and assure the continued vitality of small business, Johnson worked to modernize depreciation and expensing law to support rapid adoption of technologies effecting productivity and product quality, authored the alternative Research and Development Tax Credit, and worked on numerous tax and trade provisions to strengthen manufacturing and address market access issues in a global era. In addition, she co-authored many reforms of our pension laws, creating the Simple Plan for small businesses, many tax incentives to encourage personal savings and passage of the landmark Portman-Cardin reform. In the 109th Congress she changed the tax treatment of annuity payments when directed to long term care facilities, creating a new and more flexible option for long-term care coverage.

As Chairwoman of the Human Resources Subcommittee, Johnson improved foster care programs to support teenagers aging out of foster care and transitioning to college or work. She championed health and child care benefits for families leaving public assistance and led the adoption of much stronger laws to enforce child support responsibilities. She early understood the danger to children of sex predators on the internet and led passage of increased funding and better law enforcement tools to apprehend internet sex predators.

Currently, Nancy Johnson is a senior public policy advisor in Baker Donelson's Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm's Federal Public Policy Group.